NEMA-tastic!

Today I spent the day in lovely Nashua, NH to attend my first NEMA conference with several other Tufts Museum students and faculty. I didn't really know what to expect, but I have to admit that I was a little intimidated by the thought of so many experienced professionals and little old me just trying to make heads or tails of it all. But I was pleasantly surprised how helpful, interested, and friendly everyone was that I interacted with! I had a really enjoyable time, I met some great people, connected with some old faces, and I learned about really cool things happening in museums around New England.

Everyone always says how small the museum circle is, but I never really understood that until I was in a room with so many people with so many backgrounds that had links to one another. I really felt like I was part of something really connected and I, the networking-phobe found myself really interested to get out there, meet people, and hear their stories.

One thing that I thought was interesting was that I feel like most young professionals who will soon be looking for jobs like me, are worried about the current state of the economy and the trickle-down effects that the museum world faces when hiring. Obviously it a huge concern for all aspects of a museum, but no speakers, no panel, and no set discussion was aimed toward this idea which I was surprised about. I even had my resume looked over from a service that NEMA provided during the conference and during my meeting with the NEMA board member (who is yet another museum professional), she told me that she wouldn't think that I would have too much of a problem finding something. Her positivity kind of shocked me. I guess I didn't know how feel about this. I mean, clearly its a relief that others in the field assume that us new professionals won't be stricken to work in another field, but I couldn't figure out if they were just trying to stay positive or if they genially thought this. I then thought how much this woman would have seen in her own 30-year experience and thought that she must know what she's talking about. Perhaps I shall view the glass a little more full than I initially thought it was.

One of the biggest things that I stepped away was that there is no harm in asking or doing, as long as it is done in a professional manner. I heard so many stories whether it was an education department who didn't know if the project was going to work, or if the museum didn't know if a donor was going to support them in that next year. Instead of sitting around and waiting, or only wondering if that project was ever going to be successful, they went ahead and took the right steps to try it out. In the end, it may not have worked out, but the point is they tried and they learned from the process. I think this lesson could be used in so many situations within a museum job. If board members are willing to agree to something more experimental, or you are able to reach further into the community to assist a new group who you maybe had doubts about collaborating with, you and your institution are going to be much better off exploring and trying new things.

To fellow emerging museum professionals, I would recommend attending any conference or workshop that you can find to meet new people and become updated on the new trends and happenings. I'll see you at the 2010 conference!


A session I attended

Vendors selling all sorts of stuff for museums...


...like audio guides!

Here's a shot of a session I went to that dealt with School Audiences.
As you can see, the Higgins Armory had some great visuals!